Peters Twp. twins start Day One clothing line

By Deana CarpenterFor the Observer-Reporternewsroom@observer-reporter.com

April 7, 2014

Twins Cole and Clay McCloskey are 18 years old and working on their third business, a clothing line called Day One. - Photo by Deana Carpenter

McMURRAY – Not many high school seniors have their own company – let alone more than one. However, in their 18 years, Clay and Cole McCloskey have had three.

The latest and largest company for the Peters Township High School seniors is a clothing line called Day One.

The brothers started it in 2011.

The twins – Clay is the elder by two minutes – are the children of Tom and Mary McCloskey.

“Everything has a start – a beginning,” Cole said about the name Day One. He added he came up with the name for the company, but they both wanted to do a clothing line.

Prior to Day One, the brothers had two start-up companies, resale-type entities called Snapburgh and 24-7 Shop. They started those companies when they were around 14 years old.

“We’ve always been interested in clothing,” Cole said.

They describe the line, which right now consists of T-shirts they designed, as streetwear.

Streetwear is considered any type of fashion movement influenced by what is currently happening on the streets and in different cultures, and is constantly evolving – hence, the brothers’ designs are also constantly in flux. Streetwear is usually casual and comfortable clothing, and can be influenced by a number of things, such as hip-hop, skateboarding and nostalgia. It often features bold colors, graphic prints and retro designs and logos.

“It’s inspired by what we have in our minds,” Cole said.

“With us working together, we have a big advantage,” Clay added. “We have endless amounts of creativity.”

The duo is already planning to expand their line to include duffle bags, sweatshirts and long-sleeve tees. The brothers’ designs are keeping in the theme of streetwear with colorful shirts and logos.

The nostalgia of the 1980s is also featured in one of their current designs. The shirt is bright yellow with red text reading “Day One,” and under that it says, “Runnin’ Wild,” a take on Hulk Hogan’s Hulkamania craze of that decade.

“We’re not trying to create what someone else likes,” Clay said, adding that they design things they want to wear and don’t base them on trends.

The brothers have always been trendsetters in their own way.

“We started to dress fancier – classier – for school,” Clay said. He said they would wear suits to school, and soon their classmates were doing the same thing.

“They thought, ‘Hey, it must not be that weird,’” said Clay, with a laugh.

“We also started wearing a lot of patterned button-up shirts,” Cole said, adding a lot of the things they wear come from Goodwill and other used clothing stores.

As for the funds to start Day One, the brothers used the money from their former companies to help start this line.

For their previous start-up companies, Snapburgh and 24-7 Shop, the brothers would go to second-hand stores and church sales and buy things they thought they could sell at a higher price. They mostly dealt with sports memorabilia. For instance, they found a Starter brand jacket from 1996, bought it for $3 and ended up selling it for $55.

“We know the value of things,” Clay said.

In addition to buying and reselling things, the McCloskeys also worked for their dad, Tom, a builder.

“We worked as hard as we could,” Cole said, adding that everything the twins made went into a fund called the “Day One Fund,” because they knew they would use it to start their clothing line.

“It’s what we wanted to do, so we made it happen,” Cole said.

The twins want to go on to college and major in business and eventually would like to open their own clothing store in New York City.

“Right now, Day One is our main focal point,” Clay said. “We’re really committed to this.”

So far, the company has been successful, selling out of the first T-shirt designs when it launched.

In addition to their clothing line, the McCloskeys also have other interests. Cole sings, produces and raps. Clay sings and does photography, and both of them enjoy the outdoors. They also both have an interest in acting and movies.

T-shirts are available online at www.dayoneclothing.com, and people can connect with the brothers on Twitter, @DayOneClothing

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